Several dozen people showed up at the Santa Ana City Council meeting Monday to show support for City Manager Paul Walters. A number of them told the council they feared the City Council is looking for a way to dismiss him. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 5

The show of support for City Manager Paul Walters on Monday included a performance by a children's dance group and another by a karate group. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 5

At one point in Monday's meeting, only Councilman Vincent Sarmiento, left, Councilman Sal Tinajero, center, and Mayor Miguel Pulido, right, were present on the council dais as members of the public spoke about City Manager Paul Walters, mostly to express support. Absent from the dais were council members Michele Martinez and Roman Reyna; absent from the meeting were council members David Benavides and Angelica Amezcua. RON GONZALES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

What state law says

The state’s open meeting law – the Ralph M. Brown Act, makes it unlawful to divulge publicly what took place in closed session without authorization.

Remedies under the law include injunctive relief, disciplinary action if the alleged violator is an employee and referral to the grand jury.

Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, said there isn’t much that a public body can do to prevent leaks under state law.

“They’d have to be able to prove it,” he said, with the cooperation of whoever received the information. “You would go to court and request an injunction against any further breaches of this confidentiality rule.” If another breach occurs, the alleged offender could be held in contempt of court.

“The non-legal route would be to shame the person,” he said.

What city law says

Santa Ana law also addresses closed sessions. Under city law, it is unlawful for a council member, city employee or anyone else present during a closed session to disclose the content of any discussion that took place in closed session unless the council authorizes it by majority vote.

SANTA ANA – An issue not on the Santa Ana City Council agenda dominated the first meeting of 2013 – the future of City Manager Paul M. Walters.

Spurred by phone calls, news stories and blog posts, some two dozen residents, as well as business and labor leaders, spoke to the council Monday to voice their support for Walters, the city's former police chief who was appointed to the post of city manager seven months ago. At one point, about 75 to 100 stood up in the council chamber in a show of support.

The issue arose in a special meeting - a closed-session performance evaluation - called two days after Christmas by a majority of the council that included David Benavides, Vincent F. Sarmiento, Sal Tinajero and Michele Martinez.

Council members call it an opportunity to communicate their vision of the city with staff and to clear the air. Some see it as a way to shake up the culture at City Hall, where a longtime mayor, Miguel Pulido, has established equally long working relationships with Walters and other staff.

Some members of the community, though, are concerned that the council is looking for a way to replace Walters, who gained popularity as police chief and respect for having helped guide the city last year through a fiscal crisis. They took their concerns to the special meeting in December, and redoubled their efforts again on Monday.

Raul Luna, who served as a Santa Ana police sergeant and as a district director to Rep. Loretta Sanchez, spoke Monday.

"The last I heard Paul Walters was being recognized for his leadership and keeping the city afloat and now this," he said. "If what I hear is true, I urge each and every one of you to reevaluate your options, not based on a short-term vision, but by considering the well-being of our neighborhoods and business community in adopting a long-term vision with Paul Walters as city manager."

Cherie Kerr, who owns a public relations business in Santa Ana, made a second appearance before the council to support Walters.

"He has devoted himself to the city for 40 years," she said. "With Paul, it's never been about power or ego, but service."

Resident Francisco Barragan, who said he respected Walters, told the council that he had heard the mayor called people, saying that the council was considering getting rid of the city manager.

If no decision had been made, Barragan said, "it's an unfair characterization." If the issue came up in executive session, he said, the mayor violated his duty to keep the information confidential until it was appropriate to release it.

In an interview, he said he had overheard the mayor, on a cellphone call Sunday, telling someone to show up because council members wanted to remove Walters.

At least three council members – Martinez, Tinajero and Sarmiento – said they were concerned about a potential violation of the Brown Act, the state's open meeting law that calls for personnel issues to be discussed in closed sessions, as well as the city charter.

If that took place, Sarmiento said afterward, "I believe the mayor must be reminded and admonished about the danger of disclosing confidential information to blogs, or any other third parties."

Tinajero said there was a "very serious possibility" that the mayor violated the law. "What we witnessed should not be something that happens in our chambers," he said. "I know for a fact he was contacting people to come out. I know because people told me." He said that the evaluation process would continue, likely in two weeks.

Martinez said she would seek a resolution that the mayor had violated the law.

"I think it's absurd that people believe this is political," she said. "It is at the discretion of the majority of the council to evaluate the city manager or any other employee that reports directly to the council. The city manager serves at the pleasure of the council."

The mayor after Monday's meeting contended he had done nothing to violate the law.

"I did not communicate anything to anybody," he said. "If I see a move to fire the city manager, who I believe is doing a wonderful job, I'm going to disagree with that. It's my prerogative and my duty to do what I can to save and protect the city manager ... I did get some calls and I did encourage some people, but these people are responding to what they're reading in the newspaper. They're concerned because they are supportive of Paul Walters. All the speakers who spoke today; no one can put any words in their mouths."

The council, on a 5-0 vote in June, hired Walters as its permanent city manager. He had served as interim city manager since May 2011. The council in closed session the month before unanimously directed the city attorney to prepare an employment agreement with Walters for the city manager position.

While council members say they admire Walters for his service to the city, they have also expressed concern over the past few months about what they see as deference to the mayor on the part of staff, when the council is made up of seven voting members.

"The reality is that maybe it's time to take a leap of faith and bring in new people who can lead the city in a new direction," said Martinez, who with Tinajero was absent for the June vote. She said that the city should have continued with a nationwide recruiting effort after the former city manager – David Ream – retired in 2011. Instead, she said that Pulido pushed the council to hire Walters.

"I was not very excited or happy that Miguel didn't want to do a nationwide search when we had the opportunity," Martinez said. "He forced Paul on us."

"We're all free to vote," Pulido said in response. "The council was free to vote before, and they're free to vote now."

Martinez and other council members say their intent in conducting the performance evaluation is to change the culture of City Hall.

"At the end of the day, all we're trying to do is to decentralize power and to give everyone the opportunity to have a voice," she said.

Like Martinez and others, Tinajero said he respects the work that Walters has done on the city's behalf.

"As a city manager and as a police chief, he's been very responsive," Tinajero said.

He said it's premature to say that the council is seeking to replace Walters, who under the terms of his contract was due for an evaluation in May 2013.

"Before you can do anything, everyone has to feel they are part of the organization. Once people have that perception, you can move forward," he said. "We're saying, 'Let's restructure how we do things in city. Let's give everyone a voice at the table.' ... If our administrators thrive and do well, we'll keep them. If they don't do well, we'll have to make assessments and adjustments."

A recent concern, he said, was a special meeting called in December with 24-hour notice to deal with a $56 million demand from the state in the wake of a state law that dissolved redevelopment agencies.

"We don't want to be told at the 12th hour that we got something from the state," Tinajero said. "We want to be given that information ahead of time, so that we as a council can be forward looking."

Absent from Monday's meeting were council members Benavides and Angelica Amezcua.

Replacing Walters won't come cheaply, if the council decides to fire him. The city charter calls for five votes on the council supporting a resolution to dismiss the city manager.

His contract allows for him to return to the position of police chief if he is fired as city manager. If he chooses not to return, he gets severance pay of one-year base salary – $265,000 – or three years and eight months of military service added to his retirement benefits. He gets to decide which.

Either way, he gets an estimated $100,000 in unused leave. If he is fired for cause – for facing criminal charges or not following the council's directives – he gets nothing.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.